Obama's Inauguration

Barack Obama will be sworn in as 44th US President today at around 12 noon. That is when the ceremony is scheduled to take place, so give or take a few minutes, depending on the speed of other parts of ceremony, this is what the chart for this historic event will look like. (Chart set for 20.1.2009, 12 noon, Washington DC).

Addendum: it's 18.15, UK: Obama was sworn in at 12.05, Washington. There are no significant changes to the Inauguration chart.

What I like about this chart are the clean, clear lines. There's no fuss. There are two distinct and separate triangular aspect patterns - the Single Ambivalence Figure and the Ear/Eye. They are not connected so suggest two separate motivations/drives, one towards a work/rest cycle, the other towards listening, observing and gathering information.

There are two conjunctions: Venus conjunct Uranus and Sun conjunct Mercury/Jupiter. The north node of the Moon is attached at the periphery of the second with a gentle hint of the need to put Sun, Mercury and Jupiter to good use. In other words communicate, learn, open the mind and don't limit the perceptions and wisdom that can come from this openness. These planets are in Aquarius after all, and in themselves herald the much-needed fresh start that this new President brings.

Saturn is the tension ruler of the chart, sitting alone but receiving many aspects. Saturn's opposition to Venus/Uranus indicates the work to be done - work much needed for global stability. This planetary combination is all about finding new ways of attaining stability, and with Venus involved this could be via peaceful means, through dialogue and harmonious discussion. Change has been the keynote in Obama's route to the White House, reflected in the placement of Uranus conjunct Venus in this inauguration chart and in the DC, "You" sided position of Uranus in his own chart.

Let today be one of celebration, inclusiveness and good will, and may these qualities be taken forward into a new era where they will thrive and multiply alongside the work that needs to be done and can now begin.

Obama's chart shown here. Also see what I've written about his chart in previous postings via the search facility on this blog.

Joyce Hopewell's Astrochat

Come and visit myYou Tube channel where you can watch me talking about astrology!

The Dominant Learning triangle in my chart may have had something to do with setting up

 Joyce Hopewell's Astrochat

The Dominant Learning triangle offers me endless opportunities to learn new things. This aspect pattern has a natural progressive direction, starting with the planet at the red/blue corner and moving anti-clockwise. I have Uranus at that red/blue corner - change, innovation, new ideas and yes, new technology! Uranus, itself known as the planet of astrology, connects with communicative Mercury via the active red aspect, urging something new to come into being, and egging Mercury on to get involved and get thinking, writing - and in this case talking too!

I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised because the Uranus/Mercury part of this aspect pattern have been active for some time now as I wrote my new book, "The Living Birth Chart".

As for the Astrochat Channel, I shall be adding videos from time to time and in keeping with my Astrochat policy I shall keep them short and to the point. I'm very familiar with teaching and facilitating and talking to a real live audience, but this new way of talking about astrology is something of a learning curve for me. What's missing are the real people that I usually interact with in my workshops, so if you're out there and you tune in, it would be good to hear from you!

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy

Singer/songwriter, former model, style icon and first lady in France, Carla Bruno-Sarkozy was born on 23.12.1967 in Turin, Italy. Her published birth time is 6.10 pm, and although not verified, I’m going with this.

Bruni’s chart is predominantly “You” sided with most planets occupying the space between the IC and MC. This suggests she is an outgoing person, well-equipped to make contact with and relate to others, although the stellium of Moon, Pluto and Uranus close to the IC indicate a need to belong and have a base. With Uranus close to the IC and strongly placed in the 4th house she is equally able to uproot whenever needed and move on to a new base.

Bruni’s motivation, as shown in her chart shaping, to is to be flexible and adaptable, open to changes and able to accommodate them. This is reinforced with the high ratio of green aspects in her colour balance of 3 red: 4 green: 4 blue. Her chart is well-endowed with flexible green, “thinking and searching” energy and drives. Again supporting this theme, she has two Learning triangles in her chart which will enable her to approach life as a learning journey, gaining learning experiences and specific skills, depending on which of the two triangles is involved.

Her Capricorn Sun, weak by Sign at only 1 degree, is on the Balance Point of the 6th house. Here she might experience conflict in her ability to attain her own personal goals as well as not always being able to come up to the expectations of others. But this is a Capricorn Sun, and she will not give up easily or quickly. Her Sun is part of the Dominant Learning triangle, so she’ll learn, bringing into play the other pinning planets in this aspect pattern. She can draw on her life experiences via strongly-placed Jupiter, and maybe heed the message of her 10th house North Node, which will encourage her to strive towards autonomy.

In a recent newspaper article, she is quoted as saying (on her marriage to French President Sarkozy), “I said to Nicolas, ‘I cannot choose between you and my music, it’s ridiculous. I’m not going to drop my job and iron my husband’s shirts for the next four years.’ So of course he didn’t ask me to choose, I decided to keep my job.”

Bruni’s chart has some strongly-placed planets by house, none more so than her Venus which is very strongly placed on the cusp of the 5th house. It is conjunct Neptune and both planets are in Scorpio, reflecting the sexy allure she has, all the more fascinating as she is an independent-minded first lady into the bargain.

At age 41, her Age Point is in Aquarius and is approaching conjunction with Mars. When she reaches this planet she will pick up the smaller and skill-oriented of her two Learning triangles and connect also with Venus and with Moon/Pluto at the bottom of her chart. Moon/Pluto could well be involved in her capacity to transform and reinvent herself.

Pluto in Capricorn

If, in 2016, it seems like the world is going to hell in a handcart, take a look at what I wrote back in 2009.

Pluto entered the sign of Capricorn in January 2008, hung about a bit until June, edged back into Sagittarius until November and then finally took up more long-term residence in Capricorn at the end of November 2008. Now it's 2009, and Pluto will be in Capricorn until 2024.

Pluto in Capricorn - what might this mean? I enjoy working with images, especially with clients whose charts I see, and I aim to help bring their chart to life for them in a hands-on way which reflects real life experience. So Pluto (powerful and transformative) in Capricorn (earth-related, material, mighty structures) for me suggests the potential for volcanic eruptions and upheaval. Fiery power and change can shake the very foundations of the earth itself, and bring about cleansing changes.

The effects of Pluto in Capricorn are already being felt. Large structures, organisations and establishments are falling and failing in the current global economic climate. Banks, once regarded as strong, mighty, secure Capricornian set-ups, are buckling. Financial institutions are under pressure from this and are being aided and abetted by the current Saturn/Uranus opposition. Well-known and long-established retail businesses, such as Woolworth's, have already folded. Things are changing fast as this volcanic upheaval hits home, and if those fat cat bankers and hedge fund managers are harbouring illusions about saving their bacon and still getting away with taking large bonuses, then I for one will have a smile on my face when Pluto's heat ray singes their greedy grubby fingers.

But Pluto in Capricorn is not all doom and gloom. It brings bountiful opportunities to start afresh with a clean slate, and to bring about perfection in we humans who in habit the world. Pluto is renowned for its cleansing energies on all levels - the physical, emotional and mental. One of my students once described Pluto by saying it was "like prunes as it goes into the interior and does good works"! If it can clean out our tacky institutions and establishments so that they operate in a more transparent and fair manner, then this is no bad thing.

In Yorkshire (a large county in England, if you're reading this elsewhere in the world), there is a word used for clearing out cupboards, drawers, cellars and attics and getting rid of what is no longer of any use. The word is "bottoming" and I guess it means that as you clear things out you get to see the bottom of the drawer or cupboard. Pluto is about bottoming, getting rid of the unwanted rubbish and starting afresh.

Pluto in Capricorn will offer endless opportunities for us all on a personal level to clear out our own clutter, be it emotional or psychological. In the wider sphere, those Capricornian institutions which form the very fabric of society could also be in for a shake up. Big businesses which are not ethical, bosses who are less than honest, governments who neglect their people, fat cats who take more than they will ever need - watch out.

Pluto doesn't discriminate; it cleanses, and brings swingeing changes.

Addendum: May 2009 - MP's expenses scandalAll of the above applies equally to the current spate of revelations in the British press about many of our MP's apparently milking the system which allows them to claim for expenses incurred by having second homes to allow them to sit in the Houses as Parliament as elected representatives of the people. Pluto in Capricorn, having revealed the rot at the heart of the banking and financial systems is now turning it's heat ray on to another very rotten core and is demanding, via the justifiable anger of the people of Britain, a full-scale cleansing which needs to go to the very heart of British democracy.

December 2009 - my current thoughts on Pluto in Capricorn from my YouTube channel, Joyce Hopewell's AstroChat.

Aspect Pattern Astrology: The Ambivalence Figure

I'm posting an extract about an aspect pattern from my book, The Living Birth Chart,available from the APA on-line Book Shop.In the Huber Method of Astrological Psychology, aspect patterns offer interesting indications of a person's behaviour. This example uses the chart of a real person. The book has many such examples, with feedback from the individuals concerned on how they experience their own charts.

"The Ambivalence Figure is frequently found in charts. It’s triangular, so has a Mutable motivation, making it work in a flexible way, adapting to change as necessary. But it’s made up of red and blue aspects with no green aspects involved, which gives it with a “black/white” way of operating as it uses the red aspect to get active and “do”, and the blue aspects to enjoy life and just “be”. In the Ambivalence figure, the red working energy is held in tension in the opposition aspect, and much working energy is used here. The more relaxed blue energy in this pattern has a focal point where the two blue aspects meet. The planet here is sometimes called the “escape” planet as the person will use and express the qualities of this planet when they switch off from work, relax and enjoy themselves. The ambivalence in the name for this aspect pattern refers to its work/rest cycle of behaviour. People with this pattern are pulled between two opposing forces - doing and being (the effect of the red and blue aspects). They might be getting on with the job in hand and putting a lot of effort into it, yet all the while they long for some rest and relaxation, looking with longing at whatever the blue “escape” planet represents for them in their lives. When they have completed their work tasks and take some time out, they will enjoy this for a while, but when that niggling feeling comes along that they really ought to be doing something, or that it’s time to get back to work, they flip right back into red, working mode. Then the whole cycle repeats itself again.

Each aspect pattern will be modified and influenced by the planets that are involved, so this always needs to be held in mind when looking at aspect patterns in individual charts.

Gareth - 1.3.1973, 04.45, Crewe, UK.

In this chart, there is an Ambivalence Figure, pinned by Mercury opposite Pluto, with Jupiter in the blue corner as the “escape” planet. The conjunction of Moon with Jupiter perhaps emphasises the need to escape! One visual image we might see in the chart is of the head of a comical cartoon figure, rather like the “Road Runner” rooster, with its wide open mouth or beak pointing towards the “You”. We might also see a flower which is opening up with the tips of its petals reaching towards the “You” side of the chart. Note also that there is considerable vulnerability here as these images show the central core of the chart exposed to the “You” with no aspects to protect it. There are more planets on the “I” side of the chart, so Gareth will not like feeling “invaded” or overwhelmed on first meeting new people. There is a strong focus of planets around the AC and in the 1st House, suggesting he will be more of a private person, and will need time to himself. The planets people first contact on meeting him are Saturn and Pluto on the “You” side; he might be a little cautious and reserved at first, and he doesn’t suffer fools gladly! The direction is mainly vertical, and the chart shaping is triangular, with some linear aspects. He is flexible and adaptable, as the predominantly Mutable motivation suggests, with a touch of restlessness. He has 4 red, 4 green and 5 blue aspects, so there’s quite a lot of sensitivity and nervous energy to expend and he may not always get enough time to relax and “be”.

Gareth works in research, using Mercury and Pluto in the red opposition part of the Ambivalence Triangle. With these he gathers the facts and analyses the data that he needs to produce reports on various topics. He currently works as a researcher in the energy sector, has researched health care, and for many years prior to this he was undertaking intensive research for his PhD. Both Mercury and Pluto are psychologically on the 3/9 Thought axis, reflecting the nature of the work they are applied to and emphasising the theme of thinking and ideas. Periods of intense work involving gathering facts, studying and analysing them have always been interspersed with the need to get away and travel.

With Jupiter as the blue “escape” planet he has often chosen adventurous activities and solo trips as an independent traveller. Gareth has long had a taste for hot-air ballooning, gliding, flying lessons, fast cars and routes less travelled. Jupiter as the blue “escape” planet in this pattern is conjunct the Moon, suggesting that he gets a lot of enjoyment and fun in his time off, which balances out the intense work and mental concentration involved in the red aspect in this pattern."

For more on aspect patterns, see Aspect Pattern Astrology, The Living Birth Chart and The Cosmic Egg Timer - all available from the APA Book Shop, Amazon and other on-line retailers, in book or e-book format.